The Badger and the Snake: A Sebastian Sallow x reader

Chapter 34: The visit

We had two days left before the end of our break, two days before the reality of school took back over our perfect holiday. I sighed hating the idea of leaving as I packed a tin of goodies away. "Are you ready?" Sebastian asked standing in the door opening gripping the frame above his head firmly. Merlin why did he have to stand like that.

"Yes, I just packed her some treats, I was hoping to raise her spirits a bit." I shrugged. He smiled nervously reaching out for me to grab his hand. "I'm sure she will love them, come on." He spoke softly guiding me to the fireplace. "Are you okay?" I asked as he gathered a small pile of floo powder in his other palm. "I'm fine, it's just...my last visit with her didn't end well." He sighed pressing his brow muscle inward.

My mother came around the corner just as he was getting ready to throw it. "Oh, just a moment before you poof away. I won't be home this evening, i have another shift I have to pick up at the hospital. supper is in the fridge to be heated up." She smiled leaving the room again as I gave her an acknowledging nod squeezing Sebastians hand and he cast the powder at our feet.

In the center of the large cold room sat a carved stone desk with a small hunched women sitting behind it, Sebastian approached it and I followed a few cautious steps behind him. "Anne Sallow, room 410." He said as the women scanned a very large book.

"And you are?" The witch poked her head around Sebastian looking at me though thick lenses that are her look like a bug. "Oh um...." I stuttered before he took over. "She's with me. A family friend." He said firmly. "Right Mr. Sallow, do you need me to escort you up?" She asked still looking at me funny again. "No thank you, we'll manage." He said pressing his lips together in a tight line as we walked past her.

We entered an intricate metal elevator and the door clanked shut around us. He went to press the button hesitating for a moment. "I can go up alone." He said finally looking over at me. I shook my head. It had been ages since I had seen Anne, we wrote often but I hadn't seen her, not here. "It's not a pleasant place. I Just want you to prepare yourself." He spoke warily pressing the button.

The gate in front of us whirled open and we were immediately bombarded with screams, manic cackling, and the rush methodical shuffling of hospital staff. I knew it killed him leaving Anne here, especially on this floor. I grabbed his hand caressing his knuckles under my thumb and he glanced down at me another moment before taking a deep breath guided me to Anne's room. We could do this, especially together.

The small frail framed girl sat up in her bed a weak smile crossing her lips as we walk towards her. "You came..." She said meekly reaching her hand out to me. I took it giving her a large smile in return. "If course I came! And I brought you something!" I exclaimed handing her the tin of sweets I had packed not only from my mother's kitchen but honeydukes as well, I knew She had always had a sweet tooth.

I sat in the chair next to her, Sebastian standing behind me resting his hand on my shoulder. I smiled resting my head onto his hand. Her eyes narrowed a bit as I did so. Noticing her shift I adjusted my posture again sitting up straight. Was it upsetting her?

"I'm going to go speak with her nurse, get caught up on her treatment. Will you be alright here?" He asked placing a small kiss on my cheek. "Yes we're fine." I looked up at Anne before smiling back at him cautiously. I couldn't tell what it was she was thinking. The sallow twins had that in common, always stoic.

Anne reached out for my hand squeezing it for a moment before relaxing her grip again. "You need to be careful with him..." She said in a soft raspy voice as he exited the room. My heart dropped a little not wanting to listen to her spew the horrible things she felt about her brother to me. "Anne, he's not as dangerous as you think, he would never hurt me...I'm not scared of him." I spoke softly not wanting her to grow agitated.

She sighed as her face contorted into a look I was trying to analyze. "I love my brother, He has the biggest heart and so much love to give..." She states straining to sit up a little more, clearly uncomfortable. "But he loves hard....Too hard, So hard that when things even slightly interfere he looses complete control." Her eyes narrowed at me.

"You are the light to his darkness, the only one pulling him up from literal hell." She continued as my stomach formed knots inside me. "Don't you see.... I'm not worried about him hurting you....I'm worried about what happens when you inevitably hurt him." It stung a bit as it came out.

A pause came over me as I drank in her words. " I would never hurt him." I said puzzlingly shaking my head at her. "I can't live without him, he is my entire world, the air I require to breathe." I tried to explain and her eyes darkened once more. "And that is precisely why I am concerned. Your obsession with each other, the way you so calmly profess that your life is not worth living without one another it's not healthy...it can't possibly end well" she sputtered.

I sat quietly as she continued to lecture me. "My parents use to describe us as the ration and the passion. I'm sure you can guess who filled each position. Passion can feel wonderful, amazing even, when things are good." My mind instantly flicked to all the passionate and sensual moments I had shared with her twin before focusing back on her words.

"But what happens when things aren't good? What happens if you die in your work as an auror leaving him behind? It doesn't concern you in the slightest that Sebastian has all the makings of becoming one of the most dangerous dark wizards our world has ever seen and the single thing he clings to, the one thing dangling him over that fate is you?" Her words fell harshly upon my ears.

Was she right? Was our love as selfish as she claims? My throat swelled tight and I felt nausea flowing over me. The only words I could muster up struggled their way out of my lips. "I won't let that happen. It would never happen." I shook my head as a tear rolled down my cheek. "Then you're more delusional than I thought." Her words cut deep.

They had that in common too, when it came to insults, theirs sliced like their tongues were razors and the words they spewed at you stung like pure venom. I thought as a memory of her brother calling me ignorant in a similar fashion a few years prior came to mind. A thick silence coated the air and I felt as if I was suffocating.

I drew a long hard breath before I spoke "You may know Sebastian more than anyone. you have a bond that could never be broken or challenged. but I love him more than anyone. I have seen inside his heart and I know that he is more than you say he is. And maybe I'm delusional but you let your anger for him cloud your judgment. So what does that make you? You refuse to see what I see because you're blinded with rage, and you constantly telling him how disappointed you are and how horrible of a person he is... that is what pushes him into darkness. The only reason he hasn't moved further on from that night is because you refuse to let him." The words harshly fell from my lips.

Her eyes jetted up to the doorway of her room. I turned my head to see Sebastian standing in doorway. I didn't know how long he had been standing there, how much he had heard. "I think it's time we let Anne rest." He said with no discernible tone over his voice. I nodded my head and made my way towards him. We walked to the exit door of St. Mungos in thick tense air not speaking a word. I had a feeling he was waiting to get back home before shouting at me.